Liquid Glass
Liquid Glass is the translucent material Apple introduced with iOS 26 for bars, buttons and sheets that float over content. Material 3 has no equivalent.
Why it matters
Glass changes legibility: the contrast of a bar or button depends on what is behind it.
It is an iOS material only, so the same bar on Android draws on a solid surface.
Liquid Glass on iOS and Android
The same idea in each system, with the values Appetite UI gives it.
| Value | iOS | Android | Appetite UI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Liquid Glass | No equivalent | liquidGlass effect styles |
In Appetite UI
Where it appears in Appetite UI: Booking app, Explore. The theme switch beside the title shows the dark frame.
In practice
Glass belongs on the controls that sit above content, never on the content itself, and it needs a busy background to read as glass at all.
Appetite UI draws bars, buttons and sheets on Liquid Glass effect styles and keeps the floating tab bar on glass on iOS. The effects page says which style goes where.
| Appetite UI style | iOS counterpart | Material 3 counterpart | What differs |
|---|---|---|---|
| `dropShadow/xs` to `2xl` | No named shadow ramp | Elevation levels, drawn as shadow and tonal surface | One ramp for both platforms, with the same values in Brand and System mode. |
liquidGlass/* | Liquid Glass, on the iOS 27 transparency slider | None, Material 3 has no glass | Appetite UI fixes three stops of the slider as styles. Refraction and frost exist in Figma only. |
focusRing/* | The system focus ring shown with a hardware keyboard | A state layer at 10% opacity (`M3/sys/state/focus`) | Appetite UI draws a 2 pt gap and a 2 pt ring on both platforms, where Material tints the control. |
Common mistakes
- Putting glass on the content itself. It belongs on the controls above content.
- Using glass on a plain background, where it does not read as glass.
- Stacking glass on glass.
Questions
Can you make Liquid Glass in Figma?
Yes, as effect styles with refraction, frost and light, which exist in Figma only. Appetite UI fixes stops of Apple’s transparency slider as styles and puts its iOS bars, buttons and sheets on them.
Does Android have Liquid Glass?
No. Material 3 has no glass material; it shows depth with tonal surfaces and elevation. An Android frame in Appetite UI draws the same bars on solid surfaces.
Sources
The pages the facts above rest on, each read October 31, 2026.